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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28057251">Hand in Hand</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/amsves/pseuds/amsves'>amsves</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Log Horizon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fluff, Ice Skating, Whump Advent Calendar 2020, but there is no whump</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:47:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,494</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28057251</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/amsves/pseuds/amsves</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It's <i>not</i> a double date. So what if Marielle and Naotsugu are dating, and they invited Shiroe and Akatsuki to come ice-skating with them? That doesn't mean anything.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akatsuki/Shiroe (Log Horizon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Hand in Hand</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Ice-skating?”</p>
<p>Marielle nodded vigorously, clinging to Naotsugu’s arm. “While you guys were gone some Adventurers found a pond just outside Akiba that’s frozen solid. At first it was kind of a secret, but now the guild that found it runs a skate rental and a hot chocolate stand too! It’ll be like, super fun!”</p>
<p>Shiroe took a moment to remember how bad he had been at ice-skating before the Catastrophe. “Um, I’m not sure if this is such a good idea …”</p>
<p>“What, are you <em>scared</em>?” Naotsugu teased. “Come on, you’ll be fine.”</p>
<p>“Oh, and we need to invite Akatsuki as well,” Marielle added. “Henrietta has a skating outfit for her to wear.”</p>
<p>“Good luck with that.” Shiroe started to inch away from Marielle and Naotsugu. “You two go and have fun. I wouldn’t want to intrude on your date, anyways.”</p>
<p>Marielle snapped her fingers (the ones that weren’t squeezing Naotsugu’s bicep). “Oh, that’s a great idea! If you and Akatsuki both come, it’ll be like a double date!”</p>
<p>“No! I mean, we’re not--it’s not like that--” Shiroe tried to protest, but it was pointless. Marielle would see things her way, and Naotsugu wouldn’t correct her as long as it was inconvenient for Shiroe. </p>
<p>At that moment, Akatsuki walked through the front door of the guild hall. “Run,” Shiroe warned, at the same time that Naotsugu said, much louder, “Short stuff! We were just talking about you.”</p>
<p>One knee to the stomach and a conversation later, Akatsuki actually <em>agreed</em> to go skating with their little group. Shiroe still couldn’t believe Marielle had convinced her, but it hadn’t even looked hard. He felt himself droop. <em>Embarrassing myself in front of Naotsugu and Marielle is one thing, but Akatsuki looks up to me. I don’t want to look like a fool …</em></p>
<p>With those negative thoughts heavy in his head, Shiroe went to bed early that night. The four of them were going skating early in the morning the next day, so they would beat most of the crowds. </p>
<p>While he was setting out his futon, he briefly entertained the idea of just not leaving his room tomorrow, but he knew that wouldn’t work. Naotsugu could break down the door, or Akatsuki could toss him out the window. No matter how he looked at it, Shiroe was going ice-skating in the morning with three of his friends. But it definitely was <em>not</em> a double date.</p>
<hr/>
<p>It was <em>not </em>a double date, he repeated to himself, when he left his room and saw Akatsuki waiting in the common area. Because it wasn’t. </p>
<p>But she was dressed in something super cute, like she was going on a date.</p>
<p>A knit purple dress with fluffy cream fur at the collar and sleeves. Matching leggings to protect her legs, with cream socks pulled halfway up her shins. A hat (with a <em>pom-pom</em> on the top!) and gloves rounded out the look, as well as simple black shoes that she would be removing and replacing with skates.</p>
<p>Suddenly, Shiroe’s usual attire of a black turtleneck and green cargo pants felt very inadequate.</p>
<p>Akatsuki noticed his door opening and stood up from her seat on the couch. “Good morning, my Lord,” she greeted him. If she was nervous for the day, she didn’t show it. </p>
<p>“Uh, yeah. Good morning.” Shiroe wanted to kick himself. Why was he being so weird all of a sudden? It wasn’t a date, no matter what Marielle said; it was just four friends going ice-skating for fun. And if two of those four happened to be in a relationship, it didn’t necessarily follow that the other two were as well, and that it was a double date. Because it wasn’t. Shiroe cleared his throat. “Is Naotsugu around?”</p>
<p>Akatsuki shrugged. “Haven’t seen the pervert.”</p>
<p>Shiroe hoped ‘the pervert’ showed up soon. <em>This atmosphere is so awkward … </em>He cleared his throat again. “Did Henrietta give you that?”</p>
<p>Akatsuki flushed slightly. She dipped her head and played with the fluffy hem of her skirt. “She did. Does it look okay?”</p>
<p>“It looks great,” Shiroe blurted without thinking. “I mean, um, I'm surprised you agreed to something she suggested.”</p>
<p>A shadow crossed Akatsuki’s face. “She told me that if I wore this to go ice-skating today, she wouldn’t make me wear anything else of hers until Valentine’s Day.”</p>
<p>Shiroe could see how that was an appealing offer. There were still two weeks until then, two weeks Akatsuki could enjoy without having to worry she would be used as a dress-up doll. <em>Still, if Henrietta would suggest normal outfits like this, perhaps she’d be more inclined to wear them. And it’s really cute …</em></p>
<p>“You’re staring,” Akatsuki said, voice barely a whisper. </p>
<p>Shiroe jumped. “Sorry! I was just, uh, thinking.”</p>
<p>“You do too much of that,” Akatsuki reprimanded. “At least for this morning, I hope you can have fun and not think about the million and one things in your brain.”</p>
<p><em>A snowball’s chance in Hell</em>. But Shiroe didn’t say that out loud. Instead, he shrugged slightly. “I’ll do my best.”</p>
<p>Finally, Naotsugu came down the stairs. He was dressed in a warm-looking burgundy sweater and khakis. “Morning, you two. Ready for some fun?”</p>
<p>At that moment, Marielle swung the front door open and joined them. “I sure am!”</p>
<p>“I thought the three of us were going to walk over to Crescent Moon and pick you up?” Shiroe asked, confused. </p>
<p>“That was the plan, but I was too excited to sit around!” Marielle walked over to Naotsugu and pecked him on the cheek. Shiroe noticed that her navy dress had accents in the same burgundy as Naotsugu’s sweater. “Morning, hun.”</p>
<p>Naotsugu laughed and laced his hand with hers. “Well, since we’re all assembled, let’s get goin’!”</p>
<hr/>
<p>The walk wasn’t very long, not even thirty minutes from the Log Horizon guild hall. When the quartet arrived, there were a few other people on the frozen pond, but it was still largely empty. They paid the Adventurer at the skate rental thirty gold coins each for a pair of skates, and after taking the time to lace them properly, Marielle was the first on the ice, dragging Naotsugu behind her. </p>
<p>Shiroe was understandably nervous. He hadn’t been good at ice-skating back on Earth, and just because his Adventurer body was suited to combat didn’t mean that it was necessarily suited to skating as well. Plus, he was taller here; while he had become almost completely used to his new height and center of gravity, perhaps ice-skating would wreck all of that hard work and he would look like the clumsy mess he was on the day of the Catastrophe.</p>
<p>But none of that spiralling would help him stay upright. So Shiroe took a deep breath and forced himself to his wobbly feet.</p>
<p>Akatsuki was watching him intently. “My Lord, do you not know how to skate?”</p>
<p>He gave her a wry smile. “It’s that obvious?” </p>
<p>Akatsuki didn’t reply, but her silence spoke volumes.</p>
<p>“I don’t really, no,”  he admitted. “I did it a few times when I was a kid, but I haven’t skated for at least ten years, and I wasn’t exactly good at it back then, either. I usually just clung to the wall.”</p>
<p>There were no walls when you were skating on a frozen pond.</p>
<p>
  <em>I am going to fall flat on my face.</em>
</p>
<p>Akatsuki seemed to come to the same conclusion as Shiroe. But, instead of despairing, a determined look settled on her face. “Let me go do a few laps to warm up, my Lord,” she suggested gently yet firmly, “And then I’ll teach you.”</p>
<p>“You can skate?”</p>
<p>She shrugged. “I can’t do any tricks, but I’m okay.” With that, she crossed the bit of remaining ground between them and the pond and stepped onto the ice. After a few hesitant steps, she was gliding like a natural.</p>
<p>Around the halfway point of her first lap, Akatsuki did a half-turn and started to skate backwards. </p>
<p>
  <em>Can’t do any tricks? Yeah, right.</em>
</p>
<p>Back at where Shiroe waited, sitting on a fallen log and staring dumbfounded, Akatsuki switched to skating forwards again with another turn. Her skirt flared out a little with the spinning motion. She looked over at Shiroe as she passed, and gave him a thumbs-up. Then she was gone again.</p>
<p>Shiroe tried not to feel too gloomy, but it was hard. If Akatsuki considered her own skill level mediocre, then she was going to have her work cut out for her when she saw how bad he could be.</p>
<p>After a few more laps, Akatsuki came to a stop back at Shiroe’s log. A bit of ice sprayed from her skates as she slid to a stop. She held out a hand. “Ready to try?”</p>
<p>“Akatsuki, I think you and I had different definitions of <em>okay at skating</em>,” Shiroe said as he took a few unsteady steps towards the ice. He started to fall at the last second, and grabbed her hand so hard he thought she might cry out in pain. But she didn’t; she simply used his body weight to push herself backwards on the ice to make room for him.</p>
<p>“My Lord, you are going to be fine. I doubt either of us will walk away today as good as Marielle, though.” Akatsuki used her free hand to point towards Marielle, who was doing some very impressive twirls, and Naotsugu, who looked like he might be sick, likely from doing some twirling himself. “But you can only get better through effort. You of all people should know how hard work pays off.”</p>
<p>She did have a point. If Shiroe was too afraid to skate, he would always be too afraid to skate. If he tried and failed now, at least he could say he had tried at all. “Okay. First thing, how do I not fall over?”</p>
<p>“Crouch a little,” Akatsuki instructed. “You’re locking your knees. And you can lean slightly forward.”</p>
<p>That position felt awkward and unnatural to Shiroe, but Akatsuki seemed satisfied. “Now, it’s not like walking. You need to use your foot to push a little bit.” She demonstrated what she meant. </p>
<p>It looked simple enough, but Shiroe knew that for something like this, looks were definitely deceiving. He tried to copy the pushing motion she had done with her foot and practically did a somersault. As it was, he barely managed to stay upright.</p>
<p>Akatsuki stared at him for a long moment. Her face wasn’t judgemental, but contemplative. Clearly, she was teaching Shiroe how she herself had been taught, and hadn’t expected him to be so … obtuse. Finally, she held both her hands out in front of her. “Let’s try this.”</p>
<p>Shiroe wasn’t sure what to expect when he placed his (bare, cold) hands in her warm, gloved ones, but it wasn’t for Akatsuki to suddenly push off and start skating backwards, dragging him with her. “Whoa!”</p>
<p>“You’ll be fine,” she said plainly, “I won’t let you fall. Just focus on your feet, while I make it so you don’t fall over.”</p>
<p>It was a lot easier to focus on getting the motions right when he wasn’t afraid to suddenly face-plant on the frozen pond. They did a half-lap in this way, with Akatsuki doing most of the work and Shiroe trying his best to feel the movements and find what worked. Eventually, when Akatsuki slowed them to a stop, he actually felt a little bit comfortable.</p>
<p>“Are you ready to try it by yourself now?”</p>
<p>“Uh …” Well, the answer was <em>no</em>. But, like he had concluded earlier, if he didn’t try, Shiroe would never be ready. And Akatsuki was right there. And the longer he waited, the more Adventurers and Landers would come to do some skating of their own, and the more they would see him mess up. So, the answer was actually <em>yes</em>.</p>
<p>Shiroe took a hesitant step, and then another. Then he found his rhythm again, and started to move very, very slowly towards Akatsuki. </p>
<p>Her face clearly showed how pleased she was with his progress (or her teaching). Shiroe forgot where he was for a second. </p>
<p>That moment of inattention cost him. He stopped thinking about his feet, and with how tenuous his balance already was, it was enough to send him sprawling forward.</p>
<p>He just barely managed to avoid smashing his glasses on the ice by turning his head at the last moment. As it was, hitting the ice with his cheek didn’t feel great, either.</p>
<p>“My Lord!” Akatsuki closed the tiny distance between them and crouched down by his fallen form. “I’m so sorry, I should have caught you!”</p>
<p>“It’s fine,” he said, trying to push himself up off the ice. It was slippery, but his bare hands did manage to get some traction, and he was able to get onto his knees. “Would you mind helping me up?” </p>
<p>Akatsuki nodded and once again extended a hand to Shiroe. When he took it and used it to support his weight, it threw her off of her balance, and he fell backwards while she fell forwards.</p>
<p>On top of him.</p>
<p>They blinked at each other for several seconds, neither sure what to do. There wasn’t really a way to untangle themselves easily--</p>
<p>A sharp whistle cut through the mostly-quiet morning air. “Get a room, you two!” Naotsugu heckled as he and Marielle skated by, arms linked. </p>
<p>“Shut up!” Akatsuki and Shiroe yelled in unison. Then Akatsuki somehow pushed herself up off of Shiroe and stood back up. </p>
<p>“What you need to do is get on your front first,” she instructed, her entire face red from embarrassment. Shiroe did so. “Then put one blade on the ice, and use that one to push yourself up.”</p>
<p>It took a bit of courage and willpower, but Shiroe did get back to standing. “I’m sorry about … that.”</p>
<p>“Don’t worry about it, my Lord,” Akatsuki replied, but the words were tender. </p>
<p>There was an awkward silence between them that the chatter from other skaters did nothing to assuage. Marielle and Naotsugu completed another lap and came up to the awkward couple. “Hey, you guys,” Marielle said accusingly, “This is not ice-skating. This is ice-<em>standing</em>.” She gave Shiroe a light push forward. Naotsugu did the same with Akatsuki. “It’s getting kinda crowded, so we might want to go soon. Get some skating in while you can!”</p>
<p>They skated away again. Shiroe looked at Akatsuki sheepishly. “Well, I’m sorry that you haven’t been able to do much. If you want, I can go sit back down?”</p>
<p>“No.”</p>
<p>“Oh.”</p>
<p>“I want to skate with you, my Lord.” Akatsuki’s eyes were earnest. “I promised you I would teach you, and so far I have failed.”</p>
<p>“It’s not your fault--”</p>
<p>“It is.” Akatsuki grabbed his hands and started to skate backwards again, like they had done before. “We will do one entire lap without stopping. I’ve got you, my Lord, so don’t worry.”</p>
<p>And for some reason, when she said those words, Shiroe found that he wasn’t worried. Not anymore.</p>
<p>After a successful lap of following her lead, Akatsuki let go of his hands and skated a short distance away. “This is your final examination. Skate to me.”</p>
<p><em>Remember what you learned</em>, Shiroe thought to himself. He adjusted his posture and did an experimental push with his left foot. </p>
<p>He wobbled, but he did move incrementally in Akatsuki’s direction. He repeated the motion with his right foot, and moved forward again. </p>
<p>Shiroe took a deep breath. <em>I can do this.</em></p>
<p>“You can do this,” Akatsuki called, echoing his thoughts.</p>
<p>At the corners of his vision, Shiroe could see that the pond was getting more crowded. <em>Push</em>. It was nearly noon. <em>Push</em>. His group would be going soon. <em>Push</em>. If he could just do this, then maybe he wouldn’t feel so guilty about wasting Akatsuki’s time. <em>Push</em>. </p>
<p>Before he knew it, he was an arm’s length from Akatsuki. Realizing that made him wobble once more, and he reached out and steadied himself by grabbing her shoulder.</p>
<p>Thankfully, they didn’t fall down again.</p>
<p>“You did it,” she breathed, her smile radiant. “Congratulations, my Lord.”</p>
<p>“It’s all thanks to you,” he replied, equally pleased. “I think we still have a few minutes, so why don’t we try and do another lap before Marielle and Naotsugu want to go?”</p>
<p>They worked their way around the pond in fits and starts, Akatsuki skating first and Shiroe catching up to her. It took them much longer than it would an experienced skater, but Shiroe didn’t mind. Judging by Akatsuki’s pride in his accomplishment as they reached the end, she didn’t either.</p>
<p>Marielle and Naotsugu were waiting for them by the skate rental. Marielle waved them down while Naotsugu returned two pairs of skates. “Hey you two, it’s gettin’ kinda crowded. Whatcha say we get some hot chocolate for the walk home?”</p>
<p>Shiroe was a little disappointed that their not-double date was coming to an end, but he was mostly relieved it had ended on a relatively high note. He walked back to the overturned log and removed his skates. “Sounds perfect to me.”</p>
<p>Akatsuki agreed, and after removing her skates she went with Marielle to grab four cups. Naotsugu returned from the skate rental and sat down next to Shiroe on the log. “That wasn’t so bad, now was it?”</p>
<p>“You mean, besides you two heckling us when we fell over?” </p>
<p>Naotsugu clapped him on the shoulder. “You were just layin’ there. Had to snap you back to reality.” </p>
<p>“You didn’t have to <em>insinuate</em>,” Shiroe grumbled, but his heart wasn’t in it, and Naotsugu knew. When Marielle and Akatsuki got back, he took the hot drink eagerly in his cold, red hands. </p>
<p>He dropped off his and Akatsuki’s skates on their way past the rental, and the foursome laughed and drank and were generally merry all the way back to Log Horizon. When they pushed the front door open, the delectable smells of Nyanta’s cooking wafted through the air into their noses. They took a simultaneous deep breath. </p>
<p>“You guys are so mean!” Tetora’s voice preceded her appearance, but it didn’t give Naotsugu enough time to take cover before she perched on his shoulder. “I can’t believe you went on a double date without taking your resident starlet. We could have had such a <em>romantic </em>time, Naotsugu!”</p>
<p>Naotsugu tried and failed to push her off his shoulder. “Yeah, it was a double date, but I’m dating <em>Marielle</em>!”</p>
<p>Tetora’s eyes filled with fake tears. She dramatically fell from Naotsugu’s shoulder to the floor. “You’re <em>cheating</em> on me?”</p>
<p>Shiroe rolled his eyes and walked towards the kitchen. <em>I’ll let them figure that one out.</em></p>
<p>The Chief was in the kitchen, working hard. “Ah, Shiroechi. Welcome back. Figured mew would work up an appetite, so I’m grilling some chicken and veggies now.”</p>
<p>“Smells fantastic. Thanks Chief.”</p>
<p>Shiroe grabbed some water to drink. Nyanta waited until Shiroe had taken a big sip before asking, casually, “So, how was the double date?”</p>
<p>Shiroe barely avoided spitting out his water. Of all the people, he hadn’t expected it from <em>Chief</em> <em>Nyanta</em>. He swallowed and shot the Chief a glare. “It was <em>not </em>a double date.”</p>
<p>“My mistake.” He didn’t look very sorry for it, though. “Lunch won’t be ready for a while yet, but I’ll call mew when it is, okay?”</p>
<p>“Thanks again.” Shiroe placed his cup in the sink and headed back out to the commotion in the common area. Marielle was doing her absolute best not to strangle Tetora, Naotsugu was being used for a tug-of-war, and Akatsuki was observing the scene from the top of the stairs.</p>
<p>Shiroe tip-toed up to sit next to her on the top stair. “They’ve certainly got more energy than I do.”</p>
<p>Akatsuki nodded in agreement. “Ice-skating can be tiring when you’re not used to it. I hope the extra use of your muscles will help you sleep tonight, my Lord.”</p>
<p>Okay, Shiroe knew he wasn’t exactly athletic, but that remark stung a little. Just a little. But she was probably right. “Well, if it does, perhaps we can go again sometime.” He paused, and then added, “… maybe without Marielle and Naotsugu.”</p>
<p>Akatsuki was quiet, and Shiroe thought maybe he had overstepped. But eventually she smiled. “I think I would like that.”</p>
<p>They remained, in quiet harmony, watching the mayhem below, until Nyanta called them down for lunch. As they descended, Shiroe caught a glimpse of the world outside. “It’s snowing.”</p>
<p>Akatsuki stood on her tip-toes to see. “It is.” She looked up at him. “Is that a problem, my Lord?”</p>
<p>“Not at all. I’m just glad we got to have such a fun morning before it started.” He tore his gaze away from the fat flakes drifting gently. “Let’s eat.”</p>
<p>It was weirdly natural, after the events of that morning, to take her hand in his. Together they descended the stairs and walked to the kitchen, hand in hand.</p>
<p> </p>
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